After reading some of the recent posts regarding exploding 40cal shields, i'm slightly hesitant to shoot mine.. I bought mine at PSA in columbia s/n HRB7*** i've fired it around 30 times....with no problems, although thats not enough rounds to really tell you much....

I've looked at smith and wesson's website and searched google on M&p SHIELD 40 recall, I don't see anything.. Has anybody had any correspondence with S&W regarding this...
If anybody has read anything related to the Springfield xds recall, Springfield was all over there issues immediately and gave customers excellent correspondence, even before they knew how to address their grip safety issues.

What gives, is there anything official? any info is appreciated, I really like this gun but really don't want it blowing up on me......

After reading some of the recent posts regarding exploding 40cal shields, i'm slightly hesitant to shoot mine.. I bought mine at PSA in columbia s/n HRB7*** i've fired it around 30 times....with no problems, although thats not enough rounds to really tell you much....

I've looked at smith and wesson's website and searched google on M&p SHIELD 40 recall, I don't see anything.. Has anybody had any correspondence with S&W regarding this...
If anybody has read anything related to the Springfield xds recall, Springfield was all over there issues immediately and gave customers excellent correspondence, even before they knew how to address their grip safety issues.

What gives, is there anything official? any info is appreciated, I really like this gun but really don't want it blowing up on me......

Nothing official yet from S&W.
The consensus seems to be the explosions are due to improper ammo.
Ammo that is too "hot" or charged with too much gun powder.
M&Ps were designed around the .40S&W round.
The Shield seems to me to have pretty adequate chamber support.
This is how well the bullet fits into the chamber without a large portion of the casing being unsupported.
There are some that think the Shield 40 is actually firing the round while the slide is slightly out of battery.
Now that would be a serious design flaw.

One of the explosions, the guy claims he was shooting Winchester White Box. He seems like an honest and trustworthy person and he is certain that's what he was shooting.
So, I don't know what to tell you.

Glad to see people are okay, but it's funny to still see .40s & kabooms are still a tightly knit pair. I remember when manufactures were building .40s on 9mm frames and components and people had all sorts of problems from multiple manufactures, including kabooms.

I have a 9mm Shield and no matter which caliber was released first, I hope they didn't create the 9mm version first and then make the .40 work in it. Hopefully this gets resolved quickly.

I also hope this gets resolved fast too! my .40 Shield has a little over 100 rounds through it and a few Winchester Ranger 155's and has been perfect, no bulging brass...all looks good but, now i am kinda concerned to even shoot the thing.
I bought the Shield to replace my Kahr CM9 that also has been 100% but i am concerned about it's long term reliability.
I may have to get the Glock 26 back into CCW.

Fired about only about 75 rounds. 25 self defense type with no problem and then about 50 Federal white box 165gr.

Summary - shoots great. About the same recoil and flip as my 9mm. But I did get one FTF on the federal range ammo. The slide was extremely stiff and I had to rack it for my wife who is no wimp. And the it was also a wrestling match getting the mags loaded.

So other than needing more time to break it in, and one FTF, I liked it. Comfortable in the hand and to wear.

First this "kaboom" issue is very isolated. For the thousands of Shields sold, there has been only a few reports of exploding Shields. This seems to be an ammo issue, which could happen to anyone, if they should get an over powered round. The only other reason would be bullet setback. If you compare all your rounds for the amount the bullet extends out of the casing, the bullets should be uniform. If you find one that extends less, then do not use that round. It could cause much higher internal pressure, when fired.

This could occur from factory loads, but is more likely to be an issue with re-chambered rounds. If you empty your gun, and re-chamber that emptied round, by reloading it in the magazine, and then racking the slide to re-chamber the round, this may cause setback. The bullet hitting the feed ramp, over and over, can cause the bullet to be pushed back further into the casing. This could cause higher internal firing pressures, which could lead to a kaboom. I re-chamber my rounds, by locking the slide open, and then dropping the cartridge into the chamber. This does not cause setback, as there in no pressure to the tip of the bullet, to cause setback. I have fired thousands of rounds with my Shield 40, including very high powered CorBon SD ammunition, with no issues. We read about deadly car accidents, every day. Does that mean we won't drive/ride in cars? Same thing with these very isolated incidents with the Shield 40s'.

First this "kaboom" issue is very isolated. For the thousands of Shields sold, there has been only a few reports of exploding Shields. This seems to be an ammo issue, which could happen to anyone, if they should get an over powered round. The only other reason would be bullet setback. If you compare all your rounds for the amount the bullet extends out of the casing, the bullets should be uniform. If you find one that extends less, then do not use that round. It could cause much higher internal pressure, when fired.

This could occur from factory loads, but is more likely to be an issue with re-chambered rounds. If you empty your gun, and re-chamber that emptied round, by reloading it in the magazine, and then racking the slide to re-chamber the round, this may cause setback. The bullet hitting the feed ramp, over and over, can cause the bullet to be pushed back further into the casing. This could cause higher internal firing pressures, which could lead to a kaboom. I re-chamber my rounds, by locking the slide open, and then dropping the cartridge into the chamber. This does not cause setback, as there in no pressure to the tip of the bullet, to cause setback.

Bob

But when you drop a live round directly into the chamber, isn't that bad for the extractor?
The extractor does not properly grasp the casing and you may blow out or damage your extractor when that round is fired.

No not a problem with the extractor. You pull the slide fully rearward and release it, allowing the slide to slam forward. The extractor spring will allow the extractor to open and pass over the rim, and catch the groove, just like occurs when actually firing and cycling of the slide.

No not a problem with the extractor. You pull the slide fully rearward and release it, allowing the slide to slam forward. The extractor spring will allow the extractor to open and pass over the rim, and catch the groove, just like occurs when actually firing and cycling of the slide.

Couldn't you also just place the round back into the magazine and ride the slide forward slowly? (as long as you make sure it doesn't hang OOB LOL) I had heard it was bad for your extractor as well, that's why I developed the habit of if I unload it, I just rack the next round in the magazine and place the original round back in the magazine. If the same round is chambered more than twice, it's just time to be shot. I have a box that I keep these specific rounds in just for range practice with my carry loads.

I have been quietly watching this situation with interest as I had contemplated getting one. What I see is a wide range of circumstances surrounding this issue. I have seen somewhat entry level shooters up to very experienced shooters experience the kaboom. I saw ammo ranging from yard sale boxes that were possibly someone's reloads to standard fmj factory to hollow point self defense rounds all being involved in the kabooms. The only common factor in these situations is it's isolation to the shield 40. For me personally I don't care if it is one per 100,000 produced that is one too many!!!! And what we are seeing is only a fraction of the owners out there as most of them are not on this forum nor do they even know it exist so what is the true ratio? Only smith and wesson knows and they are sticking to their patent answer of it is the ammo being out of spec. As someone said in another thread, there sure is an awful lot of faulty ammo out there that seems to find its way into the shields only. I am not willing to play Russian roulette with my health and personally will not be adding a shield 40 and highly doubt I would consider even a shield 9 at this point simply because I do believe the evidence is mounting that there is a problem that they are not acknowledging and what is to say they will on other products if a situation were to arise? To sum it up, I understand that things can go wrong when shooting and that no manufacturer is perfect, however what separates the men from the boys is how the problems are handled and I am not personally satisfied with Smith's reaction to these occurances.

No not a problem with the extractor. You pull the slide fully rearward and release it, allowing the slide to slam forward. The extractor spring will allow the extractor to open and pass over the rim, and catch the groove, just like occurs when actually firing and cycling of the slide.

Bob

Dropping a round in the chamber and letting the slide slam home is not the same as firing the gun or chambering a round from the magazine. Under normal cycling from a magazine, the round pops up behind the extractor the entire time as it chambers.

I have been quietly watching this situation with interest as I had contemplated getting one. What I see is a wide range of circumstances surrounding this issue. I have seen somewhat entry level shooters up to very experienced shooters experience the kaboom. I saw ammo ranging from yard sale boxes that were possibly someone's reloads to standard fmj factory to hollow point self defense rounds all being involved in the kabooms. The only common factor in these situations is it's isolation to the shield 40. For me personally I don't care if it is one per 100,000 produced that is one too many!!!! And what we are seeing is only a fraction of the owners out there as most of them are not on this forum nor do they even know it exist so what is the true ratio? Only smith and wesson knows and they are sticking to their patent answer of it is the ammo being out of spec. As someone said in another thread, there sure is an awful lot of faulty ammo out there that seems to find its way into the shields only. I am not willing to play Russian roulette with my health and personally will not be adding a shield 40 and highly doubt I would consider even a shield 9 at this point simply because I do believe the evidence is mounting that there is a problem that they are not acknowledging and what is to say they will on other products if a situation were to arise? To sum it up, I understand that things can go wrong when shooting and that no manufacturer is perfect, however what separates the men from the boys is how the problems are handled and I am not personally satisfied with Smith's reaction to these occurances.

Nothing to do with kabooms but....there is a recall and it has to do with the trigger. They give you easy instructions to test the trigger, and to ease your mind they allow you to put in your model number so you can find out if it's on the list.

Nothing to do with kabooms but....there is a recall and it has to do with the trigger. They give you easy instructions to test the trigger, and to ease your mind they allow you to put in your model number so you can find out if it's on the list.

The only common factor in these situations is it's isolation to the shield 40.

This is not accurate. We've seen these failures in XDs, Glocks, M&P .45s and other guns. It is not isolated to the Shield. There have just been a few recent cases that have been reported on the Shield .40S&W. There have been several cases of Shield 9mm guns bulging cases. Those are just a tiny bit from being an exploded gun.

Also, there are many unaccounted for variables. Things like bullet set back, proper chamber dimensions and reloads.

This is not accurate. We've seen these failures in XDs, Glocks, M&P .45s and other guns. It is not isolated to the Shield. There have just been a few recent cases that have been reported on the Shield .40S&W. There have been several cases of Shield 9mm guns bulging cases. Those are just a tiny bit from being an exploded gun.

Also, there are many unaccounted for variables. Things like bullet set back, proper chamber dimensions and reloads.

No, I'm not ready to say it's solely the Shield.

Its been a problem long before the Shield came into existence. Maybe one day some of these guys will realize that. They think they found a hate factor for the Shield. But the fail to see the situation across other manufacturers and other types of weapons.